Marines to Look Into Flights by El Toro General

The watchdog arm of the Marine Corps said Friday that it will review the use of military aircraft by the commander of the western Marine air bases to determine whether a full-scale investigation is warranted, and officials on Capitol Hill said they will keep close watch on that review.

If the Marine inspector general’s office “gives this guy a scolding and not much more,” said Jim Schweiter, counsel to the House Armed Services Committee, lawmakers may open their own inquiry.

“I’m sure that there would be members who would be interested in something like this,” Schweiter added. “Fraud, waste and abuse is something the committee is vigilant about.”

Brig. Gen. Wayne T. Adams, meanwhile, said he remains unfazed by the uproar.

“The Marine Corps supports me,” he said Friday after speaking with undisclosed military officials in Washington. “There’s just no substance (to) any wrongdoing.”

He added: “I’m just going to continue to work and do my job.”

The issue surfaced Friday when The Times reported that Adams--commander of Marine air bases at El Toro, Tustin, Camp Pendleton and Yuma, Ariz.--had taken at least five flights that raised questions about his mix of military and personal aircraft use.

During a combination military inspection/vacation at Big Bear with his fiancee in October, for example, Adams ordered a C-12 Beechcraft to take him back to the El Toro base for a previously scheduled memorial service, then return him to Big Bear to finish his vacation.

En route to a military convention in Virginia in October, he stopped off in Florida during a tropical storm and signed his divorce papers. And in the course of accumulating flight time, he met his fiancee in Washington state and an old military friend and golfing partner in Pennsylvania.

Col. Jim Williams, deputy inspector general of the Marine Corps, said in an interview: “We’ll look at the issue in terms of the regulations that apply to determine if there are areas that need to be further pursued.”

The colonel said he would not characterize this preliminary review as an investigation but said it could lead to one, depending on its findings. He would not give a timetable for the process or say what steps it would include.

While Marine officials described the review as routine, other military officials said there appears to be deep concern about the disclosures--especially after a January investigation into two Adams aides.

“I know that folks at the highest level (of the Marine Corps) in (Washington) have heard about this,” said one military official in Southern California who has been involved in the flight-use issue but requested anonymity. “They’re anxious to get it resolved.”

Another senior Camp Pendleton officer said the Adams affair is “the subject of conversation big time. It’s had an effect around the office.”

As part of the January investigation, Adams suspended his chief of staff, Col. Joseph E. Underwood, and an assistant chief of staff, Col. James E. Sabow, amid allegations of suspected misuse of military planes for personal reasons.

Five days after his suspension, Sabow shot himself to death. In February, Underwood agreed to retire and pay a fine to avoid a court-martial and possible loss of pension.

Adams was never interviewed as part of the inspector general’s inquiry into allegations against Sabow and Underwood; some Marines questioned in that investigation said Adams’ name never came up during their interviews.

In a recent interview, Inspector Gen. Hollis Davison said Adams’ use of aircraft was never questioned because “there were no allegations against him.”

Nonetheless, the high level of the inquiry directed some attention toward Adams. When Underwood and Sabow were given military attorneys as part of their investigations, the Marines’ highest-ranking western defense attorney, Lt. Col. J.L. Siegel of Camp Pendleton, said that if allegations should surface against Adams, she would represent the general herself, according to one source.

Sabow’s family, who said they believe that the late colonel was doing nothing out of the ordinary in his flights, said the disclosures about Adams are long overdue.

“I think it is all true,” said David Sabow, the late colonel’s brother. “If there was misuse, I feel better knowing that the people really doing it will be found out.”

Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said he agrees that the panel will watch the review of the inspector general’s office closely.

“We have implicit trust in the IG, so I’ll just hold my breath and see what he decides,” he said.

While he would not comment directly on the disclosures, the congressman said: “It’s utterly fascinating stuff.”

And Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), a member of the House Committee on Government Operations, which on occasion has delved into military matters, added that it is “important in these circumstances that the IG’s office disclose publicly their determination on whether an investigation is warranted. . . . An issue like this is of great concern--both for the reputation of the Corps and for the reputation of its individual soldiers.”